A $1,000 – that’s what it costs every man, woman, and child to deal with the $38.4 billion in harm and havoc that alcohol creates in California.

It’s a hidden tax we can’t afford, not with a $24 billion budget deficit confronting us in Sacramento. We’ve already asked every taxpayer to dig deeper; they’re paying higher personal income taxes and more in sales tax. On deck are proposals by the Governor to do away with health insurance for 940,000 children of the working poor, deny thousands of our most fragile seniors in-home care, eliminate welfare, and end college grants that help low-income students improve their lives.